Leeds 3-1 North Forest

Leeds United moved nine points out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Nottingham Forest on Friday night.

West Ham will be hoping to close the gap against Burnley on Saturday afternoon, but it was a crucial win for Leeds, who are six points clear in the relegation battle. Now Mori, who is 4th below, will be watching over his shoulder.

Leeds took the lead with a fast-break double in the first half. First, Ilya Guluev’s super pass over the top set off a great run, before Jayden Bogle sent Elland Road into a frenzy with a composed finish. It was his first goal of the season. Just four minutes later, Noah Okafor doubled the joy with his first close-range finish since October.

Forest needed a quick start to the second half with Karl Darlow saving a series of shots in front of goal. Instead, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who had earlier headed against the bar, scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season four minutes after the break, and the game was all but over.

Dan Ndoye poked and Morato struggled but was unable to nod in down the stretch while Forest tried to respond, but Guluev was lucky not to add Leeds’ fourth goal from the goalmouth scramble.

Debutant Lorenzo Lucca pulled one back with a towering header in the 86th minute, but caused some anxiety in the closing stages. And Darlow had to make a good save deep into stoppage time to prevent Ibrahim Sangare from scoring another goal. However, when the final whistle blew, Leeds were able to celebrate the all-important three points.

Forest’s four-game unbeaten run has come to an end and given their six-point lead over the Hammers, Forest will now watch Burnley v West Ham with some nerve.

Leeds fans who spent the night singing in the rain will be able to enjoy their weekend.

Falke: “It’s more important than three points”

Leeds manager Daniel Farke told Sky Sports:

“Of course, there are games where you only get three points, but it feels a little more important. And whenever the pressure was on and we had to deliver, we had to live with it. This shows a winning mentality.”

“So I’m pretty happy with this mature behavior that we’ve shown, as well as the moments where we’ve had the quality to perform at this level and reward ourselves by scoring some points, which is an expression of a winning mentality. I’m pretty, pretty proud.”

“All the credit goes to the players because they have been very flexible so far during the season, but we don’t have the best individual quality. Unpredictability is one of our strengths and I really give a lot of credit to the players for that.”

Calvert-Lewin: ‘I’m hungry for more goals’

Dominic Calvert-Lewin tells Sky Sports:

“Double digits is what you have to aim for as a No. 9 in this league going into any season. Double digits or more. I’m happy to reach that milestone, but I’m hungry for more goals. I’m working every day to continue to improve and score more goals.”

“The trust and belief that the club, the fan base and the manager have put in me has helped me a lot. I’d like to think I’m repaying that. I’m really enjoying my football and leading the way.”

Daichi: Forest’s ‘terrible’ goal fee

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche:

“The killer for us was that at such a critical time, we made all three goals but the first one so bad.

“We were calming everything down and getting back into the game. It’s a terrible goal from our point of view. It’s a fast ball over the defense. As a manager, no one likes that. And when they score the second goal, you think, ‘Yeah, I get it, this isn’t good.’

“At half-time we have to think again, but we conceded a goal really early[in the second half]and the third goal was also terrible.

“We try until the end, but by then it’s too late. There’s no question about the result. They were better than us that night.”

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